


One More Day

by Marpep



Category: Iron Man (Movies), The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Avengers: Endgame (Movie) Spoilers, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Mentioned Peter Parker, POV Pepper Potts, Post-Avengers: Endgame (Movie)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-30
Updated: 2020-07-30
Packaged: 2021-03-06 02:33:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,907
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25615924
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Marpep/pseuds/Marpep
Summary: "She lets the message play over and over again, his words washing over her as she cries. Finally, something clicks in her brain and she shoots out of bed in search of her phone. In the back of her mind she knows it’s a bad idea, but she desperately needs to make a call." Tony/Pepper
Relationships: Pepper Potts & Tony Stark, Pepper Potts/Tony Stark
Comments: 2
Kudos: 15





	One More Day

**Author's Note:**

> Hi there! I have never written a fanfic before, or really written any type of short story (outside of high school english class many years ago). Iv'e been reading them for over a decade so I thought I would try and take my thoughts and write them down. I wrote this so fast that there are bound to be mistakes galore. Definitely an overuse of commas and probably a little bit of switching tenses. I apologize in advance. Regardless of the mistakes, I hope this story is somewhat entertaining. If not completely OOC :)
> 
> Disclaimer: I do not own the characters in this story. if I did Tony would be alive.

Pepper Potts-Stark wakes up with a lazy smile on her face, reaching out for her husband and finding only cold, empty sheets. Her foggy morning brain takes a minute to register that Tony wasn't there, nor will he ever be again. The smile immediately drops from her face. After laying in bed for a couple moments, she realizes that it is Saturday, which means she would need to get up and make chocolate chip pancakes for Morgan, as she was sure to wake up soon. 

With a dejected sigh, Pepper throws on some slippers and Tony's oversized MIT sweatshirt to fight off the chill that has made its way into her body. She realizes immediately that it will be one of those days where she will have to put on a brave face for their sweet daughter and keep her mind focused on anything other than him. 

She makes her way into the kitchen, getting out the ingredients to make Tony's "famous" chocolate chip pancakes. Ever since Morgan was born, Tony loved Saturdays. He would jump out of bed before her and run to the kitchen to prepare the pancakes, anxious for little Morgan to wake up so he could spend every single second of the day with her. Pepper smiles, thinking about the bond that Tony and Morgan used to share. He was so worried that he was going to be a bad father, doing anything and everything to prepare for the little girls arrival and reading countless parenting books to make sure he would get everything right. The moment Morgan was born, Pepper knew that all of his insecurities flew out the window. She will never forget the look on his face when he held her for the first time, it was like nothing she had ever seen before. 

Pepper starts flipping the pancakes when she hears little bare footsteps hurry into the kitchen. 

"Good morning mommy!" Morgan says excitedly, jumping into her mothers arms. "Are we havin' daddy's pancakes?" 

Pepper smiles and drops a kiss on the little girls head. "Yes baby, of course It's Saturday, isin't it?"

"Yes" Morgan says very seriously, nodding her head. "because yesterday was Friday!"

"You are so smart" Pepper smiles, squeezing the little girl in her arms and thanking the universe that she still has her. 

"Moooom, you're squishin' me!" Morgan laughs into her mothers shoulder. 

"Sorry baby, mommy's just happy to see you this morning" She sets her down and goes back to finishing up the pancakes while Morgan hurries over to the table and climbs up into her chair. 

Pepper has been trying hard to make sure that Morgan has a smooth transition into this new life without her father. She’s made sure to keep up all of their family traditions, cutting back on work hours to make sure she was there for their little girl who was yet to completely understand the enormity that is losing a father at such a young age. She serves herself some pancakes and brings both plates to the table, sitting down and cutting up Morgan’s pancakes just like Tony used to. 

They eat in comfortable silence as Pepper thinks of the day ahead. Since it was one of her bad days, she would need to find something fun to do with Morgan so she doesn’t catch on to her moms miserable mood. As they eat their pancakes, she hears the door open. 

"Good morning girls!” Pepper looks up to see Happy Hogan standing at the entrance of the kitchen with a smile on his face.

Morgan jumps out of her chair and into Happy's arms. "Uncle Happy!" she squeals. 

Pepper greets Happy with a smile. She was a little relieved, knowing that he would be ecstatic to spend the day with Morgan and she could spend her Saturday feeling sorry for herself. It was almost as if her chosen family had a second sense when she was feeling overwhelmed, and they were always popping over to check in on their girls. 

Happy knowingly sends a sad smile her way, "Mo, how about you and me go into the city and hang out with Peter today? I think your mom might have some work to finish up and I know he would be happy to see you." 

"Yes, yes, yes, PLEASE Happy! I miss Uncle Peter!" Morgan exclaims. 

Happy sets her down and tells her to go get dressed so that they could get a start on their fun day in the city. She quickly thanks her mom for breakfast and happily disappears into her room, no doubt finding the perfect outfit for their day together. 

"It's a bad day, huh?" Happy looks down at Pepper sadly. 

Pepper puts her head in her hands, "Yes. Thank you so much for taking her. I need the day to sulk." 

Happy chuckles warmly, "Of course, Pepper. It's what I'm here for. You and Morgan are family and I love nothing more than spending Saturdays with her." 

"Thanks, Happy." She gives him a hint of a smile, "Don't get her into any trouble though."

"Oh please," he says, mocking a frown "You know me and the kid are going to do everything to keep her safe." 

Pepper grins at the large man, showing that she trusts Tony's former bodyguard and driver completely. "I know Hap, of course you will."

"Hey Pep, take the day to grieve" Happy says softly, "You are always putting on a brave face, every once in a while it's ok to break down." 

Pepper's eyes fill with grateful tears at his words, just as Morgan comes bouncing back into the kitchen dressed and ready to go. She gives her mom a kiss goodbye, and with one more thankful look at Happy, they were gone. 

Pepper takes a moment to breathe before picking up their plates and taking them over to the sink. She decides that she would lay down for a while before deciding what to do with her day. A walk by the lake was always good for clearing her head. 

She walks back into her bedroom and sits on the edge of the bed, letting a few tears fall as she thinks about her life. She is so blessed to have her little girl and a group of friends that she calls family, but nothing has been the same without Tony. She had been by his side for so long that she can barely remember who she was before she met him. She sighs and looks over to the dresser where she spots the destroyed Iron Man helmet sitting on top, the one that Tony used to project his last message to her and Morgan. She hasn't dared to replay the message since that first time before the funeral, but knowing that she had the day to herself she thinks she could handle it, maybe. Pepper grabs it and presses a button on the side, the helmet immediately projecting the holographic, smiling image of Tony. The sight brings tears to her eyes once again, and as the message comes to an end she has tears streaming down her face. She watches it over and over again, torturing herself to just see her husband again. She closes her eyes and listens to his voice, the low timbre running through her body and giving her chills. She misses him so much. 

After watching the message over ten times, she finally switches off the helmet and lays back in bed, succumbing to her grief. She would do anything to get him back, she thought, even just for one more day. She lets the message play over and over again, his words washing over her as she cries. Finally, something clicks in her brain and she shoots out of bed in search of her phone. In the back of her mind she knows it’s a bad idea, but she desperately needs to make a call. 

_____________________

Pepper pulls up to the compound thirty minutes later, excited and nervous about what she was going to be asking of Bruce. She knows he will not be fond of the idea, but she tells herself it's something that she has to a least try. She finds the doctor in the lab tinkering with something and walks up to him. 

"Bruce, hi. It's so good to see you." She hugs him tight. 

Bruce returns the hug with a smile, "Pepper, how are you?" He pulls back from the hug and can tell immediately that she isin't doing very well. 

Pepper shrugs and looks down and tells him she's doing fine. She knows that Bruce can see right through her facade. When she finally meets his eyes she knows she looks guilty. 

“Bruce, I have an idea. I know you're not going to be happy about this but please listen first and consider what I have to say"

Bruce cocks his head, wondering what is making her look so sheepish. "Ok, whats up?" 

Pepper sighs and starts her pitch to Bruce. "So I was listening to Tony's message this morning and when he said time travel..."

"No way," Bruce says sternly. 

"I asked you to hear me out!" Pepper cries, "I know it's dangerous to mess with time and I have thought this through. I have an idea, I just need your help."

Bruce grunts in response. 

"I was thinking I could just go back to a regular day full of meetings while Tony is taking care of Morgan. My past self won't leave the office but Tony will think that I've decided to skip work and be with him for the day! I know past me I wouldn't leave the office until the end of the day, so there would be no worry of me running into... well, me. I won’t change anything, I just want one more day with him" Pepper finishes, out of breath and hopeful. 

Bruce sighs but considers her plan. It's not easy to look a grieving widow in the eyes and tell her that even though the technology is there, he absolutely forbids it from happening. He ponders the thought for a moment and looks over at Pepper's hopeful face. 

He narrows his eyes at her, "Ok Pepper, we can try. But you have to understand how dangerous this is. You do realize that one wrong move could ruin the future that Tony sacrificed himself for, right?" 

"Yes, I do" Pepper says desperately. "I would never want that and I know I can't bring him back. All I want is a day, Bruce. Just one more day with Tony."

One look at her tear filled eyes does Bruce in. 

"I can't deny you when you say it like that" Bruce sighs, "Lets get you suited up."

The smile that lights up Pepper's face is enough for him to shake off some of his uneasiness. 

______________________

With a touch of a button on her time travel watch, Pepper suddenly finds herself standing in the front doors of SI on a beautiful, sunny day. Looking ahead, she sees her handsome husband buckling Morgan into her carseat. She assumes he has just dropped her off at work, as he has done every day since taking shorter hours to look after Morgan. Pepper smiles and flags him down, trying to keep the tears out of her eyes. 

"Tony, wait!" She says loudly, causing her husband to look back at her with question in his eyes, "What if Morgan spends the day with Hap and you and I can have some time to ourselves today?" 

He looks at her shocked and she laughs, knowing this was not in character for her at all. 

"Huh?" Tony says, dumbfounded. "Who are you and what have you done with my wife?" She smiles. "Don't you have like, 10 meetings today honey?"

"I rescheduled them" she says with a shrug. "I have one that I have to attend at 5 PM, but until then I cleared my schedule. Is it so wrong to want to spend time with my adoring husband?” She smirks at him.

Tony fumbles in his pocket for his phone, presumably calling Happy. He looks at her again like she's grown another head and she just smiles brilliantly at him. He turns to make the call. 

"Happy will be here in 5" Tony says, closing his phone before running his hand through his hair. He looks at her with shy smile. "What do you have planned for us Miss Potts?"

"Well..." She finally closes the gap between them and places her hands on his cheeks, pulling him in for a deep kiss. She hears a moan deep in his throat as she pulls away. "A little of this a little of that" she replies with a smirk. He stares at her open mouthed and nods his head slowly.

"Think you can handle that, Mr. Stark?" She laughs as he goes in for another kiss. 

The look he has on his face when he pulls back makes her heart clench. She tries to keep herself from grabbing him and never letting go, but knows he would be even more suspicious.

He replies in a low voice, full of passion "Oh yes, definitely." 

Happy is there minutes later to grab Morgan and with a wave to their baby girl and their friend, Tony and Pepper set off in the direction of the park. They decide to walk through Central Park for a while, soaking up the beautiful morning. They don't say much, occasionally brushing their hands against each others like teenagers. Tony eventually grabs her hand and pulls her down to sit on a bench, looking at her with his expressive brown eyes. 

"Pep, not that I'm complaining about your sudden need to play hooky with me, but are you sure you're ok?" Tony questions.

Pepper swallows the lump that suddenly forms in her throat. She was enjoying the serene walk so much that she almost forgot why she was here with him. "I promise Tony, I'm ok" she smiles at him, "We have just been so busy with Morgan lately and with me going back to work, I feel like we haven't had a chance to just be together with no interruptions. I've missed you." 

The look he gave her almost broke her heart in two, "Pep, I love you so much."

"I love you too, Tony"

_____________________________

They found themselves stopping at a small cafe around lunch, continuing their small talk and stealing fevered glances at each other. Pepper couldn’t find it in herself to do much but stare at him and reach out and touch him. He questions her about it a couple of times throughout their meal, but Pepper simply shakes her head and smiles at the man in front of her. She’s blissfully happy and simply in awe that he’s here and he’s real, and she doesn’t want the day to end. 

“Where to next, Pep?” Tony says, grabbing her hand and leading them out of the cafe. 

Pepper holds up a finger, signaling for him to hold on for a minute. She was in the midst of calling Happy to check up on Morgan. Upon hearing that she was fed and down for her nap, she sticks her phone in her pocket and looks up at him from under her lashes. 

“Where do you think the nearest hotel is?” She speaks softly to him and watches as his eyebrows rise comically. 

“uh..wow, ok. Let me just… check real quick…” he fumbles a bit trying to get his phone out of his pocket, apparently in shock that she wants to spend the afternoon in a hotel with him. Thinking back, Pepper realizes they probably haven’t done this since the first year they started dating. “There’s a five star boutique hotel a couple of blocks down, let’s go.”

Pepper giggles as he grabs her hand and pulls her down the street, speed walking like someone on a mission. She tries so hard not to look at her watch, knowing the time was rushing by faster than she wanted it to. Tipping up her chin, she promises herself she would live in the moment and not think about the time. She knew going into this that she would be broken at the end of the day.

They make it to the hotel in record time and Pepper watches as Tony immediately turns on the Stark Charm, asking the young receptionist for a suite that they could check into right away. The woman smiles shyly, obviously starstruck, and hands him a key card. She promises them complete privacy and a bottle of champagne that would be sent up to the room right away. Giving her one last smile, Tony once again drags Pepper to the elevator. 

Pepper feels a warmth spread throughout her body as the elevator made its ascent, and turns to give Tony a light kiss on his jaw. He makes a surprised noise and grabs her by the elbows, slowly pushing her backwards until she hits the wall. His mouth is immediately on hers, forcing her mouth open with his tongue. She moans into his mouth as he kisses her, meeting her tongue with his, and reaches up to tangle her fingers in his hair.   
The passion filled kiss comes to an abrupt stop when the ding of the elevator signals their arrival to their floor. They tun for their suite, her hand latched onto his elbow. 

They are on each other again as soon as the door is closed. Tearing at each others clothes, eager to experience some alone time, and both free to be as loud as they want without worry of waking the baby. Pepper loves the passionate nature of their relationship. So many years together and they still want each other as much as they did the first time. 

Pepper squeaks in delight as Tony lifts her up and drops her on the bed, realizing that he had somehow managed to get rid of all her clothes. They make love hard and fast, knowing there would be time for sweet and slow later. He alternates from messily kissing her mouth to sucking on her neck, skillfully keeping up his frantic pace and groaning out his pleasure. Pepper meets him thrust for thrust, screaming out his name as they ride out their orgasms together. 

“Pepper, Pep, Pepper, love” Tony mumbles into her shoulder, collapsing halfway on top of her. 

“Tony, god. You’re so good at that” Pepper sighs once she can finally speak again. She playfully slaps his shoulder when he smirks up at her in response, a knowing look in his eye that she recognizes well. Tony chuckles and rolls off of her, pulling her back into his arms immediately. 

“Pepper, God I love you so much” He says, picking up his head to look into her eyes. She knows how much he means it, his eyes have always been a dead giveaway. She is always able to know exactly how he feels in moments when he lets his emotions shine through those beautiful brown eyes of his. 

Pepper looks away, feeling exposed. She is so worried that he will see her pain, she knows how well he can read her too. Instead she pulls him down for a deep kiss, showing him exactly how much she loves him. Suddenly, there’s a knock on the door.

“Room service!”

“Our champagne!” Tony says eagerly, jumping out of bed and throwing on his boxers before greeting the man at the door. 

Pepper uses the small time she has alone to try and get her feelings under control. Two more hours is all they have, and there is nothing she wants more than to just tell him the truth, warn him of what’s coming. She wants to beg him to run away with her and Morgan, she just wants to avoid the inevitable. For what seems like the millionth time, she wonders why someone else couldn’t be the hero for once. Why did the fate of the universe have to be in Tony’s hands? She chokes down a sob while Tony makes his way toward her with a glass of champagne, a smile lighting up his face as he hands it to her gently. She tells herself that two hours is better than nothing, so she smiles back and surrounds herself in the warm presence that is Tony.   
_______________________

They bask in each others company for a while, talking about Morgan and work and occasionally leaning over to kiss each other. Pepper internally starts to panic when she once again looks at the time and turns her head into his neck, trailing kisses up to his jaw and back down again. Tony turns her so that he is on top of her, placing light kisses and nips to every part of her body. They take turns exploring every single part of each other, whispering words of love into each others skin. 

After pleasuring her with his mouth from head to toe, Tony slips inside her again. He is going so slow, worshiping her and whispering about how beautiful she is and how lucky he is, almost to himself. She keeps her eyes wide open, taking in his beautiful features. She knows that this is the closest she will ever be to him again and the thought brings tears to her eyes. Not able to hold on any longer, she lets go and he is right behind her, still talking to her quietly and running his hands all over her as they both come down from their highs.

Tony gives her one last kiss on her sternum before he looks up at her, eyes shining. He immediately frowns seeing the tears streaming down Pepper’s face.   
“Honey, what’s wrong?” He asks gently, “Did I hurt you? Pep?”

She responds by burrowing her face in his neck and letting the sobs rock her body, he holds her close whispering words of comfort in her ear, waiting for her to calm down. 

“No, Tony. I just…” she trails off as he uses his thumbs to wipe away her stray tears. She tries to smile brightly at him, “I just want you to know how much I love you, Tony” She finishes. She brings her eyes to his, awaiting his response. The love pouring out of his gaze is almost enough for her to break down again, but she stays strong. 

He leans down and kisses both cheeks, then her mouth before he responds. “I know Pepper, I know how much you love me” He continues, “I can’t believe that I am the lucky bastard that you chose to love, but I am thankful for it every minute of every day. I love you so much Peps, I love our life together.” He smiles down at her again. “Please don’t cry.” 

She gives him a watery smile and brings her hands to cup his cheeks, “I don’t say it enough, I just wanted to make sure you knew.” She then brings his mouth down to hers for a long, drugging kiss. She knows their time is up, and she tries to put every feeling she has for him into their kiss. Slowly breaking apart, he leaves one last lingering kiss on her lips before speaking again. 

“Pepper, are you about to start your period or something?” He says jokingly, and she can’t help but laugh along with him, knowing the beautiful sound of his laugher will help her get through the toughest days ahead.

“What can I say,” she shrugs, “I just haven’t heard you talk about yourself in a while, so I wanted to make sure your ego was still in there” she taps his chest as she speaks. 

He smiles at her with his teeth, laugh lines evident as he jokingly responds, “Babe, don’t worry about me, I am Iron Man.” 

She sucks in a breath and smiles at him, hearing his last words come out of his mouth so casually make her dizzy. He has no idea what is coming, she thinks, but she is so proud of the man he turned out to be.

She tries so very hard to keep the trembling out of her voice as she responds, “Who knew I would end up marrying a superhero, huh?” and she leans up to kiss him hard one last time, still cradled in the safety of his arms, before breaking their kiss and gathering their clothes to leave.

______________________

“Are you sure you have to go to this meeting?” Tony whines as they come up to the entrance of SI. 

“Yes, Tony I am so sorry” she responds, “but today was so wonderful, I should definitely play hooky with you more often.” She reaches out to hug him, breathes in his wonderful scent one last time and kisses his cheek fondly. 

He hugs her back tightly, “Hey, what do you say we continue where we left off after Morgoona falls asleep tonight?” 

She laughs, still pressed against him, “Sure, Iron Man” she looks up at him and she sees his eyes darken. 

“I’m going to hold you to it, Miss Potts.” He says as they untangle themselves from each other. She looks up at him again, into the beautiful eyes of the man that she fell in love with over 20 years ago, and leans in to give him one last lingering kiss goodbye. 

“I love you, Tony” she says, trying to keep her voice even as they part. 

“I love you too, Pep” he responds happily, “always.” 

She turns to walk back into SI, hoping that the Pepper of the past will just think Tony is being crazy when he mentions their day together. She laughs, thinking about the the look she knows she will give him and almost cries as she imagines his confused face. 

As she walks through the door she knows this is it. She is going back to the future. A future where Tony is gone, where he has willingly sacrificed his life for all the people that were snapped away by Thanos. She’s going back to their precious child, 3 years older than she is in this timeline and acting more like Tony every minute. She smiles, knowing that a piece of him will always be with her, in Morgan. 

She looks back one last time and watches him disappear before she breaks out into sobs again, reaching for the time traveling watch that her brilliant husband designed to save the world. Knowing she will call out for him if she waits one second longer, she presses the button that swirls her forward through time. 

________________________

Bruce is waiting for her when she returns, the anxious look on his face telling her that he was probably using the two minutes it took for her day with Tony to pace around the room, thinking the worst. He looks up at her and notices her tear stained cheeks and smiles sadly, “you ok pepper?” He asks quietly. She responds by enveloping him in a hug. 

“Thank you. Thank you so much, Bruce.” She says after releasing him. She leaves quickly, knowing that she needed to be alone. 

She calls Happy on her way back to the cabin, asking about Morgan and how their day is going.   
“Everything’s great!” He says. He sounds like he is out of breath and it makes Pepper laugh. 

“Great, I’m glad she’s having fun Hap. Hey, would you do me a favor and feed Madame Secretary dinner tonight and tuck her into bed for me? I think I need a bit more time alone” she knows Happy can hear her sniff through the phone. 

Happy knows not to say anything about her tears and says that he would be more than happy to take care of Morgans bedtime routine tonight. Pepper thanks him again before letting him off the phone, so grateful for her friends. They have become her lifeline these days. 

She drives up to the cabin and turns off her car. She sits for a while before deciding that a walk around the lake would probably be a good idea after all. She walks idly for hours, playing back conversations and memories from the wonderful day she spent with her late husband. She makes her way back to the house for a shower and decides that since Morgan was in good hands for the rest of the night, she should probably try and get some rest. Pepper makes her way to the bedroom, deciding to turn in for the night. 

Laying in bed, she turns her head towards the helmet, the last piece of her husband. She finds herself feeling weepy again. She decides that she deserves a good long cry. She cries sad tears for all that has been lost, and happy tears for everything she was lucky enough to have with Tony for all those years. She cries tears of joy for the little girl that they brought into the world together. As her tears hit the pillow, she thinks back on the day and feels her heart breaking, not knowing if she just made everything worse. She thinks that she probably has. It almost feels like he just died all over again. 

Finally slipping into sleep she thinks that regardless of the choice she made today, one more day would never be enough for her and Tony.


End file.
